Donald Sherman is a CCOF Foundation Organic Transition Grantee.
Donald Sherman’s friends know him as a hardworking farmer whom other farmers in the Fresno, CA area look to for inspiration and advice. He is active in community agriculture and grows produce for the Fresno Farm Box CSA. Since receiving this grant from the CCOF Foundation, Sherman plans to transition some of his farmland to organic production and further serve the produce needs of his community.
Sherman’s farming roots run deep. His family migrated from Louisiana to the California Central Valley in the late 1940s with extensive farming experience and his mother used her gardening expertise to feed the family. Sherman followed the path of his older brothers in college, all of whom majored in agriculture and horticulture. He spent 25 years working with his brothers on the family farm before branching out to farm on his own. As Sherman himself describes it, “Farming has been in my blood from birth!”
Sherman’s plans for transitioning his land to organic production begin with farming 3.4 acres organically while developing a program that fits his soil type. He plans to incorporate cover crops, organic fertilizers, and natural pest control.
“I’m trying to be more conscious about the food I produce,” he says. “I have always [over the last 25 years] grown healthy and safe produce with no pesticides. This just seems like the next step in future production. My customer base is asking for more.”
The CCOF Foundation is proud to support producers like Donald Sherman with the Organic Transition grant, which gives three-year grants of $10,000 a year to farmers transitioning their land to organic production. Grantees receive multi-year funding, peer-to-peer support, and technical assistance with agronomy, business, financial literacy, marketing, and market development.
If you would like to contribute to the success of Organic Transition grantees like Donald Sherman, please reach out to the CCOF Foundation’s Donor Relations Manager Shawna Rodgers, srodgers@ccof.org to learn more.